Page 68 - Georgina Island

Through the Department of Indian Affairs (now Indigenous
Services Canada, and Crown–Indigenous Relations and Northern
Affairs Canada), the following are the Indian Act’s basic roles,
established either by practices, law, or treaties:

• Define who is entitled to be registered as a Status Indian.
• Define the rights and obligations.
• Legislate for the management of Indian Lands.

• Cover the costs of obligations specified in treaties, such
as annuities.
• Define the responsibilities and obligations of Chief and
band councils.

• As fiduciary responsibility, the federal government must
provide for the cost of
– elementary and secondary education
– community physical facilities on reserve, such as roads,
bridges, water and sewer systems, flood control, fencing,
lighting, etc.
– health services

Implication for First Nations Peoples
This act is the principal determinant of the rights, powers, and
status of First Nations peoples. No action on reserves, from
buying and selling of land to granting membership to levying
taxes, can be taken without the approval of Crown–Indigenous
Relations and Northern Affairs Canada at the present time.

Revisions to the Indian Act 1985 – Bill C-31

1. Removal of Discrimination from the Act
In the past, the Indian Act discriminated against Indian women
on the basis of sex and marital status. For example, an Indian
woman who married a non-status automatically lost her status
under the Act. She also lost her band membership. She could not
pass on status under the Act to her children. This was not true
for Indian men, whose children received status: the Indian Act
also conferred status under the Act to their wives, even though
their wives may not have been of First Nations ancestry.

66 Georgina Island First Nation

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